"Sorry to keep you folks waiting. We would have loved to release the update this week and were really pushing to make it happen with many of us working very late tonight, but in the end we simply ran out of time and decided it's better to fix the remaining known issues since we're already aware of them and can do better.

And here we go! The new and much-awaited build of Next Car Game is finally out there.

What does this mean in the end? Well, it all boils down to why it took
so long between the updates in the first place: we upgraded the game’s
engine. In its old iteration, we weren’t sure that the engine could
handle all the features we want to include in the game, so, to play it
safe, we took the long route and fixed the engine. In essence, we tore
it apart. We cut off clumsy clusters of code, with each cut paving way
for a more streamlined and more robust iteration of the engine.

It was a lot of work.

As it’s our own engine, we had a pretty good idea how long it would
take, but in the end, the amount of effort it took was much more than
even we ourselves had anticipated. But, it did pay off in the end. Now
we can be certain that the engine can withstand all the nifty we have
planned.

The bad news is that, despite the work we’ve already put in, the engine
is still far from finished. It’s a rickety contraption that’s bound to
buckle and crash and sway and stagger, so expect Next Car Game to give
you a constant supply of trouble.

And now the good news.

Next Car Game will soon run more smoothly, thanks to the new engine.
What is now purring under the hood will also power a more complex, more
detailed and more all around awesome damage model, meaning that all
kinds of things can break, bend and tear in your motorized steel bullet.
What you now see in this build is just the beginning.

We have also added a second American muscle car to the mix! This baby is
difficult to handle, but the power it commands is definitely something
to be reckoned with. Again, this is just the beginning – we have many
more cars lined up, but one banger at a time, folks, one banger at a
time

We have also included a very early prototype of a new track! And take
note of the word “prototype” — it lacks pretty much all the nice bells
and whistles, meaning that it’s our ugly duckling, but we thought it’d
be cool to show you how the track looks and feels like before it’s
finished. This new sand pit course should provide you with clever ways
to swerve, careen and crash, but what makes the track special is that
we’ve done something we have never tried before: the surface of the road
has “noise” and it affects your handling! The surface noise simulates
the uneven surface of the road, affecting the suspension of your car and

giving the steering some sweet, sweet feedback effects. We hope you
like it.

As a cherry on top…

Ladies and gentlemen, Motor City madmen and girls of Crash Country…

Next Car Game now supports LAN gaming!

Yes, that’s right. After getting so much requests and wishes and
messages hoping that the game would support local area network gaming,
we went and did just that. After all, we’re doing this game for our
fans, to whom we owe a great deal more than just a car game. We owe you
all our honest friendship, our sincere love, and our utmost respect.

The LAN feature supports 12 players at a time, and while a real deal
online mode is still missing, this is an important step towards that
goal.

But please, do remember that Next Car Game is still ways off from being a
final product. It will crash. It will stutter. It will not work the way
you want it to, and it will piss you off. And if you’re LANing your
heart out, expect lag, especially if your server isn’t robust and you
want to keep all graphics settings to the max. But, as said, it’s a work
in progress, and we’re working real hard on making it a better game,
one line of code at a time.

You can be of great help and immense importance to us by giving us some
solid feedback. Feel free to be direct, and no need to be nice, but be
detailed in what’s bugging you. That’s the best way for us to know
what’s wrong with our game, as that’s how we’ll know what we need to
address next.

Thanks for your time, and for your support, good folks!

Enjoy

-Jori Virtanen, game designer, Bugbear Entertainment Ltd.

Here's the change log as well:

Engine:

*Rewrote the engine.
*Significantly simplified gameflow logic.
*Added support for data hotloading.
*Wrote a shiny new property editor.
*Removed a ton of old legacy code.
*Rewrote the effect system, note that certain effects are missing as of now.
*Added a launcher option to set grass rendering distance.

Multiplayer:

*Implemented LAN multiplayer for both race and derby, currently supports 12 players.

Input System:

*Added remapping support for XInput devices such as the X360 gamepad.
*Added D-pad and look-around support for DirectInput devices.
*Increased the amount of rebindable controls.
*Added analogue handbrake support.
*Added proper H-shifter support.

Gameplay:

*Improved AI behavior to help it stay on track better.
*Added support and first draft scoring events.

Damage:

*Implemented new damage system based on tracking deform instead of impacts.
*Improved deformation to make the cars break apart in a more realistic manner.
*The car that is heavier and traveling faster will now have an advantage in collision.
*Fixed an issue where unlocked panels such as doors would not animate correctly.
*Added a placeholder smoke effect for the critically damaged engine state.
*Added a release state to all wheels so that they can be torn off.

*Rewrote the user interface platform.
*Implemented new Replay user interface.
*Added a preliminary scoreboard to post-race.
*Improved the main Garage UI somewhat to enhance usability.
*Removed the vignette effect when getting damaged during gameplay.
*Added support for fetching Steam user name and avatar.

Vehicles and Upgrades:

*Added a new American Muscle car.
*Reworked engine upgrade parts to mimic real-life parts.
*Reworked the suspension setups for more authenticity.
*Added first upgrade part descriptions.
*Improved gamepad controller functionality.
*Switched Anti-Spin assist to an improved Stability Control assist.